So I found and then after much deliberation bought 2 1970 850 spiders from a local guy. I looked them over pretty good but didn't have a full toolbox to really get into them but the appeared to be in pretty good shape... Notice I said "appeared"? 1 was said to be driveable and the other pretty much straight parts car. The driveable one was not very driveable at all and needed a ton of work just to get it home and I actually got towed the last 8 miles to my garage. Now the fun begins....
So, Day #1: Pulled the rear end off of it so I could do a few things, 1 being try to hammer out a huge dent in the side right above the running light on the drivers side. The second was to understand the engine and why the bugger wasn't getting fuel all the time. I took the fuel pump and both filters (yep, 2 filters, 1 before the fuel pump and one after, both see-thru's) off and cleaned them out. Then I checked the lines and checked for sediment build up in the gas tank... nothing. next I checked the distributor and found that it was iffy so I tinkered with that for a bit. pulled the carb. off and made sure it was clean as well. Checked the oil on the dip stick and it looked like hot fudge so I figured I drain, flush and refill with some really good oil. I found the plug under the engine compartment but couldn't find the oil filter. hmmmm So I got the jack from my 4runner and started to lift the rear to check it out. Got it 3 inches when the jack punched thru to the other side of the frame right where ur supposed to jack the little bugger up.... Well hell, that's no good, so I put the jack back a ways by the rocker arm to the wheels and tried again. got both sides up and on stands and squirmed underneath for another look/perspective... still no darn oil filter!!! what the...??? So I shimmy my way back out and start doing some heavy pondering when I notice this funny space on top of the crank case that has 2 little hose fittings coming off but no hoses attached to them.... hmmmm, could those be?? I have no idea so I came here and asked. then I was feeling froggy and the weather was nice so I tore out the interior to take an internal look at the pans. OMG! wish I hadn't... ignorance was a "hole" lot of bliss in this case... Both pans rusted thru... crap
not only that but the passenger side kick plate under the mid section of the door jamb is completely rusted thru as well... what to do what to do.... So I grab my sander and just start going to town... where there was rust there came shiny metal or holes, where there were holes, I drilled or plunged or cut nice even circles and squares out to make the refab easier on me. Then, since I have to replace the driver's side door anyway I decided I might as well remove it and leave it to the side to allow for easier access to the floor pans from the inside. That was all well and good but I wound up having to drill out 2 of the bolts b/c they were rusted solid. Thus endeth day one, with the 850's butt in the air, 1 door gone, lots of holes in the body and even more shiny metal showing thru around the holes. I shut the garage up tight and left 3 cans of damp rid in close proximity to the car so all my hard sanding work doesn't go to pot overnight. Tomorrow's project?? sand the entire thing, get some bondo and primer, find an arc welder and some sheet metal (I have a buddy who's donating his old dryer to the cause!) and try to get some of these holes fixed. Then if I can get my angle grinder to work I'll grind the finished weklds smooth and hopefully be priming away late tomorrow night. fingers and toes crossed!!